The New York Giants got more help from their late round picks than the early ones.  Injuries had a lot to do with that though.  Here is a look at what the rookies on the Giants did in 2011:

22-year old CB Prince Amukamara was picked in the 1st round by the Giants.  He played in 7 games for the Giants this year and he had 14 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  The Giants are hoping for more out of Amukamara in 2012 and beyond.

23-year old DT Marvin Austin was taken in the 2nd round by the Giants.  He spent his whole rookie season on the Injured Reserve List due to a nasty pectoral injury.

22-year old WR Jerrel Jernigan was picked in the 3rd round by the Giants.  He played in 8 games this year for the Giants and he didn’t catch any passes.  Jernigan did return 8 kickoffs for 186 yards (23.3 avg) this year.

24-year old OG James Brewer was picked in the 4th round of the draft.  He didn’t get into any games as a rookie for the Giants.

23-year old LB Greg Jones was a 6th round pick for the Giants.  Jones played in all 16 games for the Giants this year and he had 31 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has a nice upside.

23-year old safety Tyler Sash was picked in the 6th round by the Giants.  He played in all 16 games for the Giants this year and he had 17 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.  Sash did most of his work on special teams this year, but look for an expanded role on D in the near future.

23-year old LB Jacquian Williams was a sixth round pick of the Giants.  All he did was play in all 16 games for the Giants in which he had 78 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 fumble recoveries and 4 passes defensed.  Williams was by far the Giants best pick in this draft and he will likely be a starter for a long, long time.

23-year old RB Da’Rel Scott was a 7th round pick.  He played in 11 games for the Giants this year and he carried the ball 5 times for 16 yards (3.2 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 13 yards (6.5 avg) and he returned 14 kickoffs for 341 yards (24.4 avg).  Scott made the most of his opportunities this year.

GRADE FOR 2011:  C+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B+

The Giants have lost 22-year old rookie DT Marvin Austin for the entire 2011 season due to a torn left pectoral muscle.  This is another blow to the Giants’ defense as they had high hopes for Austin, starting this year.  They took him in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft last April out of North Carolina.  The Giants hope that Austin will pay attention to what goes on in his rookie year, as he would do well to learn as much as he can before he takes the field in 2012.

The New York Giants spent five of their 8 picks on the defensive side of the football and they needed the help.  CB Prince Amukamara came to the Giants in the first round and he was ranked by most experts as the second best corner in this draft.  He will likely be a nickel back in his first year and quite possibly a starter.  Amukamara will be an impact pass defender for the Giants in the very near future.  DT Marvin Austin gives the Giants another young, big body for the interior of the defense.  MLB Greg Jones, SS Tyler Sash and OLB Jacquian Williams all came to the Giants in the sixth round and they should be able to help on special teams right away and the defense down the road.  WR/PR/KR Jerrel Jernigan came to the Giants in the 3rd round.  He will likely be the punt returner/kick returner from day #1.  OT James Brewer was a nice value pick for the Giants in the 4th round as he could be a starter in the near future.

PROJECTED GRADE:  A

The Giants picked RB Da’Rel Scott out of Maryland with the 221st overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  He is 5’11″, 211 pounds and he can run a 4.36 40.  Scott is a speed back who often puts the ball on the field and that’s not good.  He played in 13 games (all starts) for Maryland last year and he carried the ball 122 times for 708 yards (5.8 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  Scott also caught 14 passes for 170 yards (12.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Scott carried the ball 430 times for 2,401 yards (5.6 ypc) with 17 TD runs in his four years at Maryland.  He also caught 48 passes for 509 yards (10.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs and he also returned 28 kickoffs for 599 yards (21.4 avg) at Maryland.  The Giants will likely bring Scott along slowly like they did with Ahmad Bradshaw early in his career.

The New York Giants have picked OLB Jacquain Williams out of South Florida with the 202nd overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Williams is 6’3″, 216 pounds so he’s a tad small to play outside linebacker.  He might eventually be moved back to safety unless he can gain a little weight.  Williams only started last year with the Bulls and he had 71 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 interception.  Look for Williams to have to earn his P.T. on defense by playing well on special teams.

The Giants took 23-year old strong safety Tyler Sash out of Iowa with the 198th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Sash is 6’1″, 210 pounds and he runs a 4.55 40.  Sash has it all as he is very aggressive in run support and he is a good pass defender with good hands.  Sash played in 13 games (all starts) at Iowa last year and he had 79 tackles, he broke up 2 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  Sash played in 38 games (37 starts) in his three years with the Hawkeyes and he had 217 tackles, broke up 14 passes, he had 13 interceptions, forced 3 fumbles and he also had 1 fumble recovery.  Look for Sash to help out the Giants on defense and special teams right away.

The Giants picked 22-year old inside linebacker Greg Jones out of Michigan State with the 185th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Jones is 5’11″, 240 pounds and he runs a 4.65 40.  Despite his size, Jones needs help from the D-Line in front of him so that he can free flow to the ball.  He is a great tackler and he has a knack for hitting RBs in the backfield.  Jones played in 13 games (all starts) for Michigan State last year and he had 106 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, he broke up 3 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  Jones played in 52 games (46 starts) in his four years with the Spartans and he had 465 tackles, 46.5 tackles for a loss, 16.5 sacks, 7 passes broken up and 2 interceptions.  Jones is a classic middle linebacker and he was a solid pick for the Giants.

The Giants picked 23-year old OT James Brewer out of Indiana with the 117th overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Brewer has nice size as he is 6’6″, 323 pounds.  The Giants think that they can coach Brewer up.  He’s a very talented guy but he too often sets up tall and it negates his power.  If the Giants can get Brewer to stay low, he will be a starter down the road as he is already a good pass blocker.  Brewer played in 9 games (all starts) for Indiana last year and he played in 29 games (21 starts) in his three years with the Hoosiers.  The Giants got a bargain in getting Brewer where they did as a lot of draft “experts” had him pegged to go in the 2nd round of the Draft.

The New York Giants picked 22-year old WR/RS Jerrel Jernigan out of Troy in the 3rd round (#83) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Jernigan is on the small side at 5’8″, 181 but he runs a 4.39 40 as he has the ability to score any time he gets his hands on the ball because of his speed.  Jernigan played in 13 games (11 starts) for Troy last year and he caught 84 passes for 822 yards (9.8 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Jernigan played in 50 games (35 starts) at Troy and he caught 262 passes for 3,128 yards (11.9 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  While Jernigan is a good WR, the Giants probably wanted him more for his return ability.  Jernigan returned 67 kickoffs for 1,580 yards (23.6 avg) with 1 TD return and he also returned 29 punts for 372 yards (12.8 avg) with 1 TD return.  I like this pick a lot for the Giants as they needed a gamebreaking type at WR and in the return game.

The Giants took 22-year old DT Marvin Austin out of North Carolina with the 52nd overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Austin is 6’2″, 300 pounds and he can dominate when he wants to.  But, he comes with a lot of baggage as he doesn’t appear to give it his all on every play and he was kicked off North Carolina’s team due to dealing with an agent, which brings his character into question.  Austin played in 38 games (25 starts) in his three years with the Tar Heels and he had 106 tackles, 13.5 tackles for a loss, 9 sacks, batted down 4 balls and he forced 1 fumble.  This is a boom or bust pick for the Giants, but DT was a need position so they took a leap with Austin.